


So a DJ and an MC Meet on a Mountain...

by Darkhymns, SkyWrites



Category: Splatoon
Genre: Bad Slang, F/F, First Meetings, Friendship, Humor, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-06-21 08:14:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15553461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkhymns/pseuds/Darkhymns, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyWrites/pseuds/SkyWrites
Summary: To Marina, she was someone who represented a brighter, happier future.To Pearl, she was way too damn tall. (And she kinda liked it).





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> anyways I can't rap.

“Yo, what you playing at?”

Mount Nantai was a place of ghosts, of something sacred and whatever weird things Pearl learned back in school. There was a weird thing right here, all right! The girl she was talking to had such a confused look on her face, and her clothes were all gritty and junk, with some half-broken bulky thing strapped to her waist. Also like, that top was full-on latex? That wasn’t fresh anymore. Neither were those combat-looking boots!

“Oh! Um, nothing. I’m just a little lost.” The girl talked weird too – some kind of accent. She spoke through the words slowly as if she wasn’t used to it. She then pushed aside a tentacle strand from her face, and that just got Pearl itching to speak again.

“Seriously, girl! I never saw no one got such dreads like that! This a country thing?” She craned her neck. “And ain’t no one in Inkopolis this tall either! Something you guys drinkin?” Pearl looked from side to side, squinting her eyes at the vista of nature and trees and all that boring junk that surrounded them. Not even one food truck for miles. Insane. “And uh, can I get a hit on that stuff?”

This only made the other pause, but still give off a somewhat nervous smile. She kept pushing back that tentacle from her face. “Ah, no, not really. Is this the way to the city actually? I’m not that good with directions.”

“Okay, now I _know_ you be tripping.” Pearl stepped back, adjusting her crown more firmly. This one ain’t gonna fall off and shatter like the last one, for real! “It’s the hottest place there is! Don’t you know anything? Well, can’t blame ya. Barely got any bars out here!”

“Um, well,” the girl had out her phone just then. It was weird looking too, had all these lights on it that just made Pearl squint her eyes. How did the boonies get such good tech? Speaking of tech, her goggles looked like some futuristic kind of model. She wore it on her forehead and it had this weird ominous red glow on both lenses. Kinda dope, though. “My signal is just fine actually.”

“Eh, my network is always playing me.” Pearl began to quickly lose interest in this freakishly tall girl with the kinda overdone hairdo. She walked past her further down the road, where a tall shrine was placed nearby. Real old-school. Pearl made sure to take a few pics before she would move on, but the other girl wasn’t taking no hints.

“Sorry to bother you again. But, just wanted to make sure the way to Ink.. oh police.. am I saying that right…?”

“Hey, you know you messing my flow?”

Blink. “Oh! I never meant to-”

“Can’t get that inspiration with you just hovering! Gotta make my way to fame!” She turned to face the girl again, hands on her hips. “My words so fresh gonna make you cry! Climbing up and far, don’t need to rewind! MC Princess on the floor! Don’t get splatted by the force of my roar! Hey! Hey! See this face? It’s gonna be all over the place! From far and wide, I’m ready to lay down these rhymes! Get it right! It’s my soul! I’m not gonna let no bumpkins move me from my goal! Ya feel?”

…Okay, so she was freestyling that one really hard, but people usually make _some_ noise when she’d drop it. The girl was just as silent as the boring trees. Might as well be one. She was tall like they were! Another pause, then a tilt of her head, making those tentacles move all eerie and whatever.

“MC Princess?”

“My stage name, yo!” God, she seriously was a bumpkin. Pearl had no idea how anyone could live out here. At least Calamari County had an ocean nearby! “Real name’s Pearl, AKA _The_ Pearl, AKA Squidilicious, AKA MC Princess, AKA MC Danger Noodle!”

“Danger Noodle?”

“Yeah, that sh@!*% be hype or what?”

The girl widened her eyes. “Oh! Are you allowed to say that?”

“What the $%@#! you talking about?”

There was a patting down on those gritty clothes, as if she was trying to look nice for Pearl all the sudden. Well, better late than never. She spoke again, still with that slow rhythm at first, but then at a more normal pace as if she was adapting to the language.

“I’m Marina. It’s really nice to meet you. That was a pretty sick rap. I was so into it! Sorry for being a little whack before, I’m still just trying to get my bearings.”

“Hey! So you do got some slang hidden there!” Finally. Now she was not in foreign waters no more. “Nice to know you not as messed up like I first thought. No offense, just being honest here.”

Marina didn’t seem to take any, once again smiling, though with less nervousness. She even started to giggle, putting her hand over her mouth. “None taken. So, you’re doing research for something?”

“Man, not research. That’s boring!” Pearl had to correct her. She can’t abide any misinformation on her character. “It’s _inkspiration._ Need a fresh new take on my gig. Definitely got the skill to pull off my rap, but I need a good hook. Know what I mean?” Nah, no way this girl knew what she meant, but she’d keep going anyway. “Heard there’s some ancient power here up on this mountain, but man, all I’m seeing is dirt and more dirt, and some dinky buildings!”

Marina nodded to Pearl’s mini-rant, which the shorty squid accepted with grace. Then the girl raised her head to the sky, her face suddenly so wistful and eyes wide. The sunshine fell over her dark skin and gave weird translucent vibes to those overgrown tentacle dealies. “Still, the surface is very nice, isn’t it?”

“The what now?”

“Er, nothing.” She turned away, looking toward that shrine with its arches and some small offerings that were laid out near its base and- “Oh look a cat!”

“I don’t know what that is.”

But Marina was already walking forward, towards some weird fuzz thing that was off the side of the shrine. A really fat fuzzy thing. But Marina was cooing at it like it was the cutest creature in the world. Pearl squinted and recognized the white and black markings, and how it munched on those fish bones like it would go out of style. And it was. It did go out of style. Man, this dude was so retro. “That’s just Judd! The heck you all the way out here for?”

The cat just barely turned to Pearl as he sucked on those bones. Marina scratched under her chin and though he gave no words for it, his eyes nearly fell shut, not at all mindful for this person just up and showing. “Meow! (Vacay),” he said, then shrugged, then laid back.

“He’s so cute! I’ve heard of cats but never got to see one before.” Marina was practically vibrating with glee as she continued to pet him. “Aww, look at him! I want a cat…”

“Hey, yo, I still don’t know what you talking about. That’s just Judd!” Pearl shook her head. Maybe this girl was broke in the head after all. Those goggles were wrapped on too tight. Also still really ominous looking. Would be a great prop on the stage though.

Pearl considered a bit more. Mount Nantai was full of sacred ghosts, or it was supposed to be. And she found none of that. Would have been cool to come up with a spook rap. A sprap! Yeah! Okay, that didn’t work. But there was something. She stared at Marina’s back, at her bouncy tentacles, and the high-pitched noises she was making that could travel far. Huh. Good range. Pearl wondered if she could sing. And she had the face for an audience too, if she was being honest. And Pearl was always honest. Gotta be when you wanna make it, especially to yourself.

“Hey, Marina,” she called. The girl turned, her face still stretched in a smile. A brief flash illuminated the area, making everyone – even Judd who was already half-asleep – blink. Pearl grinned back. “Guess I found a little what I need then.”

Then she turned around abruptly, back down the path that led out of the mountain. Footsteps stuttered behind her. “Oh! Um, are you leaving already? I didn’t mean to be rude if I was-”

“Nah nah, that ain’t the thing here.” Pearl gestured to herself, to her crown more specifically. “The juices are flowing! The ink’s ready to be splatted! Gotta get a grip, gotta take what you get! My rhyme’s on a time, and like I said, I ain’t gonna rewind!... Also my setup’s back home. Gotta sample before the scramble!”

Marina just understood what she meant perfectly. “Ah, you’re making a track! That, seems really fun.” Another smile, softer this time. “Do you think-?”

“So anyway, gotta dash! Maybe I’ll see ya around next time! Sometimes the ink runs out, and ya gotta get a fresh new batch!” Pearl nodded to the beats already popping in her head, and to Marina who seemed to shift a little to its unheard tune. This girl learned quick. “Not easy chasing your dreams, you know!”

Marina nodded some more. “Yeah… but it’s worth it, right?”

“Hey, I like you.” Pearl waved, stepping away backwards so she can still face Marina, giving her full attention. No half-baked clams here! “Tell me how you get your hair like that next time! PEACE!”

Pearl just continued walking backwards until she disappeared from the gradual dip in the road, all the while holding out her hands. A grand exit was just as important as an entrance. Just some tips from someone who was going to be the next big hit out there.

* * *

Marina kept staring out into the road, the sun bearing down her, heating up the visor strapped to her forehead. She removed them automatically. The wind blew through her tentacles and whistled through her now free ears that had been covered by the visor’s strap. Her clothes were still very out of place, she knew, but at least up here she could get her bearings for the moment before reaching squidilization.

“Meow! (Didn’t know the Octarian Menace was up here).”

She turned around, but the cat was still laying back, sucking on fishbones as he sunbathed. She felt no menace from the tone, or maybe she was just being hopeful. Also how did she understand that meow anyway…? Either way, she didn’t want to make a big deal of it.

Marina kept fiddling with the visor. She would need to change for sure, and even her study of the Inkopolis language was still met with some roadblocks. There was only so much to glean from her files, those that she was able to even take before her desertion. Speaking with Pearl really helped her understand some of the nuances! If she could talk with her some more, then maybe…

She sat before the shrine, a tinkling of bells from overhead. There were a lot of legends surrounding Mount Nantai, sometimes about life-changing things, but not like this. And certainly not from such a brief encounter either.

She hummed the inkantation, closing her eyes in relaxation. She took up the keyboard that had been strapped to her waist, fingers pressing the keys. A brief experiment on the tone, on the rhythm. She was a fan, for sure, but she wanted to create something a little different, however it may be. Pearl’s freestyle rap suddenly came to mind. Would she really come back? She never even promised it.

“I always wanted to be in a band…” Marina whispered, looking out past the road. She played a beat, some notes warbled or broken, but it didn’t matter. It was still a melody that hooked her in right away.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's only one person Marina wants to start a band with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was written by [SkyWrites](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyWrites/pseuds/SkyWrites)!

“Yo, yo, I’m Pearl, what’s the dealio, you think you’re something? You’re just keel haul, yo!” Pearl shouted into the wind. She let out a sigh. “Man, that was whack.”

Marina had been waiting for this moment! She’d come back to Mount Nantai every day for the past week, trekking up the winding paths, getting a lot sweatier than she’d like to admit, and hoping she’d see that girl again.

She’d been in Inkopolis for a few days, but it was frightening. There were so many squidlings, so many buildings, so many people that were not… her people. They didn’t seem so different, yet still she knew they way they stared at her, she _felt_ the way they stared at her. Her clothes weren’t right, her hair wasn’t right, her way of speaking wasn’t right. Not to mention she had nowhere to be, had no money to her name.

Out here in the open, away from everything, away from everyone she felt safe. Safe, but lonely. That Pearl girl, she didn’t make Marina feel uncomfortable, she didn’t feel nervous around Pearl. What was it about her? Was it her short stature? Was it her cute kid-like voice? Or maybe it was just her blunt personality? Marina wasn’t sure. But she couldn’t stay quiet, she didn’t want to sit in the shadows anymore. She wanted to talk to someone again. She couldn’t talk to anyone else but her.

“Hey! Hello!” Marina called out timidly, tapping the hopping mad Pearl’s shoulder. “It’s, um, me again!”

Pearl’s little body instantly bounced away in fright, her crown nearly toppling off her head. “WHOA, DUDE,” she screeched. “You can, like, NOT sneak up on me, okay!?” She was practically wheezing, her legs trembling. “I, I would have, like,” She needed time to catch her breath. “I could have _splatted_ you, bro!”

Marina could only smile. It felt wrong, but she couldn’t help it. “Sorry.” She laughed.

Pearl frowned hard. Her stubby legs trembled, but not because of fear anymore. “Yo, you think I’m a joke?! Think I don’t go for broke?! You best step off before I blend you into an egg yolk! I’ll ink ya up to your tentacles, I’ll leave ya dry and feed ya to the gulls! You think you’re so hot, tall, dark and handsome? I’ll stuff you in my closet and hold you for ransom!”

Marina couldn’t hold her smile back. It had been a week since she had smiled again, and she wouldn’t lose it. She was desperate to hold onto that feeling. This girl was so spunky, so bouncy, so bubbly, yet somehow even while threatening to kidnap and splat her, Marina wasn’t afraid?

“That was amazing!” Marina laughed, her cheeks hurting from smiling so much. “Did you think up all of that on the spot? Although, I think maybe drop that egg line.”

Pearl glared, keeping silent for a moment, wind blowing through her short tentacle hair. “Yeah, you right,” she said with a shrug. “I’ve been spittin’ mad whack rhymes lately. Like I got some kinda mind virus or something.”

Marina felt the tightness of her goggles suddenly, straining, pressing against her. “Yeah. I know that feeling.” She paused, afraid to say too much. “But everything else was mad fresh!”

“You really think so? For eel?”

If anyone else had said those lines to her, if anyone else had been talking to her, she would have said no. But something about the way she said it, the way she was so animated, the way her voice cracked as she screamed it, it sounded so… cute? But at the same time, it was cool. Like, really cool. Like, she didn’t care what anyone thought of her! Marina envied that. She wanted to feel like that.

“Damn straight!” Marina said awkwardly. It still took some getting used to. But she wanted to say it!

It was Pearl’s turn to laugh this time. “Girl, you’re weird! But I like that ‘bout you. You got like, you got just something weird goin’ on…” She motioned with her hands towards Marina’s body and stared hard, inspecting again. “But I like it! Makes the ink flow, knawmsayin?” She poked at her big head and grinned. “Like, you so weird, but it makes me _think,_ yo.”

She wasn’t sure what took over her at that moment. Pearl made her feel comfortable, made her feel like she could say anything. So she just said it. Without thinking.

“Yeah, bet that doesn’t happen too often, huh?” Marina laughed. Almost instantly after, she felt a bolt of lightning run down where her spine would be if she had one. _Oh, no, what are you doing? Why are you insulting her?!_ Her ink froze, her body went cold. She was about to lose her only chance at a friend. “I am so sor-”

“Sick comeback!” Pearl shouted, an eager smile across her lips. “You ain’t as limp as you look! You got some teeth under those tentacles, don’t ya?”

Images of heavy machinery and cold deadly weapons rushed past her mind. She didn’t want to think about that. Marina smiled sheepishly. “Ahah, I guess so?”

Pearl crossed her arms, as if expecting more. “Ya know, shame you’re not like… a musician or anything. Talkin’ to you is nice and all, and you got some mad weird style, but….”

Her heart almost exploded out of her chest. She didn’t think she’d get the chance! She didn’t think she’d be able to bring it up! She had to!

“Actually, I’ve been working on-”

 “Shame! Gotta go!” Pearl shrugged, already walking backwards down the hill.

“Wait! Pearl, but!”

“Wish I could! I gotta gig to get to! And I need to look fresh! Yo, MC Princess needs all the work she can get, ya know?” She winked, and finger gunned as she slowly walked below the hills’ view. It was an image Marina would not be able to forget. “See ya later, Marina!”

She should have chased after her. Marina should have _made_ her listen. But… There was always next time. Right?

* * *

It wasn’t long before Pearl was back again. It was only a few days this time as opposed to a week. Marina felt that rush of adrenaline at the sight of her, how the sunset sparkled off her big white head, how her crown lit up like flame. This was the only time Marina could speak, the only time that mattered.

“Yo yo yo, Marina!” Pearl laughed. “Here again! Figured ya would be.” She paused. “Still kinda weird you always show up here though.”

“You could always go somewhere else, you know,” Marina said back, a sassy smile across her lips. Her ink froze again, as somewhere dark inside her dreaded that Pearl would do just that and leave her all alone up on this mountain.

Pearl’s eyes widened as if she had never actually thought about that. “Pffft, girl, guess you right.” Luckily, Pearl didn’t seem to want to leave either. “This mountain sucks. I’m startin’ to think the only reason I come here is for you, ya know?”

Her heart pounded to the beat of her song, Marina felt herself becoming more confident, surer of herself. Something she could never feel out on her own.

“You lookin’ at me weird,” Pearl said, her brows furrowed and her fingers pointing. She was always very fidgety, wasn’t she? Always very animated. “Is there somethin’ weird on my face??”

“Yeah, your face,” Marina teased. She didn’t worry as much this time.

“Hey!!” Pearl said, angry in such a way that again didn’t seem threatening. “You’re one to talk with… with your… hair!”

“Nice.”

Pearl let out an exhausted sigh. It was the first time Marina had ever seen it. Like her squiddy little soul just left her body and floated away to the farthest respawner it could find.

“I know. I know, that was whack,” Pearl admitted. “I’ve just been in, like, such a funk, ya know? I feel like…. yo… I feel like I’m not like… improving, you know?”

Marina frowned, feeling a strange kinship with her. “Stagnating?”

“Naw, I dunno what beetle dating has to do with this,” Pearl said with a completely straight face. Wow, she really meant that. “I just feel like… I need _something_ , yo! Something different! Something wild and fresh and hip and new! Something off the hook, ya know?”

Marina went quiet. Her heart was pounding. This was her chance. She felt her hands tense, ready to reach for her phone, to show Pearl what she’d been working on. But for some reason she didn’t do it. _Move your fingers, Marina, come on!_

“Sorry to drag the mood down,” Pearl said turning away. “I should be headin’ back anyway. Seems like this dumb mountain just ain’t doin the trick anymore. Maybe I’ll see ya around some other time.” She didn’t walk backwards this time, she didn’t bounce with each step down the path.

_You worked too hard to get here, Marina. You can’t screw this up. Come on, put yourself out there!_

_But you’re an Octoling! They’ll recognize you! You can’t be consorting with a celebrity! That’s the opposite of laying low! They’ll toss you out, they’ll splat you till you can’t take it anymore!_

_But I came here to change things. I left to do something different! Be someone different! I can’t just leave and hide away forever, I don’t want things to stay the same!_

“Pearl!” Marina shouted, grabbing the small woman’s shoulders a little too forcefully. “Wait!”

“Girl, you trippin?” Pearl growled. “I wanna go back to my crib and wallow in some mad despair, yo!”

“Shut up a second!” Marina said hurriedly. “I’ve got a track I’ve been working on! I want you to hear it!”

Pearl tilted her head and suddenly any annoyance that was inked across her face was wiped clean. “For eel? You a musician?”

Marina nodded, already pulling out her glowing little earbuds. She hoped Pearl wouldn’t notice the octopus on them. Then again, she didn’t notice the octopus tentacles on her head, so she’d probably be fine. “Well, I’m… I’m kind of new, I guess, but I’ve always wanted to be in a band!”

“Girl, I don’t wanna hear no amateur garbage.”

But Marina was already kneeling down to put the earbuds in, whether Pearl liked it or not! “Shush, just listen.” Adrenaline coursed through her inky veins as she hit play on her old beat up phone.

She would never forget the next moment. The way Pearl’s frown couldn’t help but turn upside down. The way her eyes lit up, the way her foot started tapping against the old dirt road, how her head bobbed slightly, her cute little tentacles swaying with each motion.

“Yo, yo, yo!!!” Pearl howled, her little body springing to action. “That $%#! was fire!” Her eyes were still shining like the pearls she was so aptly named after. But they were seeing Marina. Really seeing her this time. “You made this? That’s you singin’??”

Marina was breathless. She had been dreading it. Dreading that Pearl would hate it. She didn’t even know she was dreading it till now, till she felt her body almost melt away into an inky mess. All she could do was nod. She was doing everything she could to not slip into her Octopus form.

“Damn, girl, you’re great!” She said, still hopping with the beat. She snatched the phone from Marina, opting to press play to hear it again. “Yeah, yeah, yeah! I mean, don’t get me wrong, this is still pretty newbie stuff!” She nodded, suddenly very serious. This girl knew her stuff. “And honestly? It sounds kind of… sad?” She tilted her head, trying her best to articulate her thoughts, which was fairly difficult for Pearl. “Like… lonely. Not that that’s so bad, but I don’t think Inklings really want sad, ya feel me?”

Marina still held her breath. Was she that obvious? That see through? She didn’t mean for her sadness and her loneliness to get through to the song.

Pearl must have read Marina’s facial expressions, maybe even her mind. “No, no, but it’s… it’s not bad! I think, hmm…. I think maybe you just need a partner! Someone talented, someone amazing!”

Despite the way her legs trembled, despite her worry, Marina still managed to sneak in some sass. “So not you then, I guess?”

Laughter exploded out of Pearl like dynamite. “You are like, way too funny! No one ever gives me sass, ya know? It’s hella boring!” She stopped to catch her breath. “So, like… you have heard of me right? You’ve heard my songs, yeah? What do you think?”

“I’ve, uh, I heard I think one of your more recent songs,” Marina said sheepishly. It was in an old record store in the bargain bin section. “Dudes be sleepin?”

“You mean #$@%* Dudes Be #$@%* Sleepin!”

“Right.”

“Well, come on, don’t leave a squid hangin! What’d you think?”

It wasn’t bad! Marina really did like it! But… it was so angry. A very very angry song. Pearl’s voice was louder than anything! There was no one to hold her back a little, there was no one to keep her in line! Also, it was really weird how they kept that window shattering part in. But there was something so authentic about it, something so _Pearl_ about it. Even with all the guitars and the screaming, she was still so cute?

She told her as much. Mostly. Marina left out the cute part.

“Aw, girl, you aint bein’ straight with me!” Pearl said with another laugh. “I know that track was whack! That was where my funk started! That lame song is why I’m up here!”

“Maybe… maybe I could help?” Marina asked, almost begging.

“Yo, you know what?!” Pearl shouted, trying to put her arm around Marina’s shoulders but finding that metaphorical mountain too hard to climb. She settled for around her waist. Close enough. “Why don’t you come chill in my crib?! I’ve got some actually decent equipment you could use!”

Before Marina could reply, her stomach spoke for her. Growling louder than she’d ever heard before.

Pearl laughed. “Got the munchies huh? We’ll stop by Crusty Sean’s and get you something. That cool? Also…” She sniffed. “… Maybe we could get you a shower too. No offense. And I got some sick duds you could wear instead of that weird getup.”

Everything was suddenly moving so fast! Marina could hardly keep up. She nodded, worried she’d fall right there on the spot. Luckily Pearl was holding on tight, making sure she wouldn’t lose her balance.

“Aw yeah!” Pearl shouted. “This is gonna be off the hook!”


End file.
